The Muffin Top Blog

Pass me a slice of Ava pie!

I was looking through some pictures on my computer and came across this one. I'm not sure how old it is...maybe from around last October??? Anyhow, it is just too cute not to put up. Normally, to accompany a picture like this I would post a recipe for blueberry pie, but I felt more inspired to post something more simple, and more likely to prepare.

One of my favorite Spring and Summer snacks is berries!! Ever since I was a little kid I have had an obsession with freshly picked and then frozen blueberries; they are one of the best and most refreshing treats!

Although blueberries and blackberries have more than enough flavor on their own I love to pair these two with balls of honey dew melon and finish the mix off by squeezing fresh lime juice over the top and sprinkling it with fresh, chopped mint leaves. The measurements aren't specific, just add as much lime juice and mint as you like.

Here is another berry recipe I read in a magazine earlier today. It sounds pretty tasty, and looks easy to prepare!

3 cups water
1 lemon and 1 lime, peel removed and cut into strips
1 cup fresh mint leaves
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 cups fresh blueberries
3 cups fresh raspberries
3 cups fresh blackberries
a few springs of mint for garnishing


This is what the magazine says to do: 1. In a medium saucepan, combine water, lemon peel, and lime peel. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, and add mint leaves; cover, and steep for 30 minutes. Strain mixture discarding solids. Stir in sugar. Cook over medium high heat until mix reaches 224F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, stir in lemon and lime juice. Cool for 15 minutes. 2. In a medium bowl, combine sugar mixture and berries. Cover, and chill for 2 hours. Garnish with mint and serve.


This is what I would do: Since the sugar mix is really just a basic simple syrup I would mix the sugar and water in a saucepan, boil until all sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. Throw in the lime and lemon peels, mint, and lime and lemon juices, cover, and steep for about 30 minutes. Proceed by following step 2 in the above directions. The flavor will still infuse into the syrup, and you will just take out a few steps. Seems to make sense to me, but you pick which directions you want to follow. If you want to experiment with both let me know how it goes!